Sunday, May 06, 2007

Maternity Benefits

Dear Mr Tan,

I read your blog. You said the "the cost of maternity benefits" should be borne by society. What do you mean?

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REPLY

Some employers are reluctant to employ pregnant mothers as they have to give two months of maternity leave, for the first two children. They find ways of avoiding this cost. They will avoid employing an expecting mother.

It is better for the society to bear the cost of providing the maternity benefit. The mother should be able to claim the lost wages from the government, either through a reduction of tax, or a specific allowance.

This can apply to the first three children for each female working person.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's true! All these problems arise because the employers are made to pay for something that is not even beneficial to them. Like NS, already the company has to make provision and show understanding. But paying for maternity leave? Come on, be reasonable! Only the civil service can do that because it is from the government anyway. Maternity leave should be bore by the government and the company should also make provision for no pay leave.

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